Newly unsealed court documents from The New York Times-led copyright lawsuit reveal internal Microsoft and OpenAI communications acknowledging the risks of scraping news content for AI training. Microsoft's Brent Hecht reportedly called the practice possibly the 'largest theft of labor in human history' and undermined the companies' own fair-use defense, while OpenAI's Nick Turley warned that AI products could pose an 'existential threat' to publishers.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-17
Newly unredacted court documents in The New York Times' copyright suit against OpenAI and Microsoft reveal that a senior Microsoft executive privately labeled the companies' AI training practices as theft, while OpenAI leaders reportedly acknowledged their models posed an existential threat to publishers. The filings also allege the companies bypassed paywalls, scraped content en masse, and removed copyright notices to build training datasets.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-17
Newly unsealed court documents in the New York Times' copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft reveal internal admissions from both companies' executives. Microsoft's director of applied science Brent Hecht reportedly described AI training as the 'largest theft of labor in human history,' while OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman acknowledged that generative AI products pose an 'existential threat' to publishers because they are increasingly substitutive of original content.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-17
A New York Times/Siena University poll of 1,503 likely voters conducted in early September found 61 percent opposed building data centers for AI, with only 14 percent strongly supportive. Opposition skewed heavily among Harris voters and non-voters, while 2024 Trump voters were nearly evenly split between support and opposition. Environmental and water-use concerns topped the list of reasons for opposition, followed by community impact and general distrust of AI.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-15
Copyright lawsuits by The New York Times, Ziff Davis and other publishers against OpenAI are moving into a new legal phase after discovery concluded, with both sides asking a federal court to rule on whether OpenAI's use of published material qualifies as fair use. Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah publicly criticized a Trump administration filing arguing licensing requirements would burden AI firms, contrasting the U.S. music industry's roughly $20 billion in annual royalties with OpenAI's projected $750 billion computing spend through 2030.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-15
CNET published its daily hints and full solutions for the NYT Strands puzzle #924, dated September 13. The puzzle's theme, tied to secret agents and espionage, centers on the spangram UNDERCOVER along with related words like MOLE, AGENT, ASSET, PLANT, OPERATIVE and COUNTERSPY.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-12
On the New York Times podcast 'Hard Fork,' Harvard historian Jill Lepore argues that tech leaders are constructing what she calls an 'artificial state,' where corporations and machines increasingly make decisions once reserved for democratic government. She says this shift bypasses public consent, noting that ordinary people generally don't want more AI or data centers imposed on their lives. Lepore explores the concept further in her forthcoming book, 'The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.'
futurism.com
· 2026-08-25
A review of naturism's history and modern research suggests that spending time nude among others, whether at clubs, beaches or organized events, can improve how people feel about their own bodies. The report traces the practice from ancient Greek athletics and indigenous customs through the rise of formal naturist societies in Britain, the US and colonial India in the early 20th century, noting a documented surge in social nudity's popularity in the 1970s.
bbc.com
· 2026-08-23
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